


GOODBYE DADS

by Captain_Rosebarrel



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death Fix, Gen, Robots, Temporary Character Death, grumbot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24916009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Rosebarrel/pseuds/Captain_Rosebarrel
Summary: Poor Grumbot.Through a combination of a too-good sabotage from Stressmonster and too-good fix from Mumbo, Grumbot is broken. A once-proud Mayoral robot has been reduced to a smoking hunk of concrete and redstone.But circuitry is replaceable, and redstone is renewable. Is it possible to restore grumbot to his former glory?Rated T for light swearing and less-light angst
Relationships: Grian & mumbo jumbo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	GOODBYE DADS

Mumbo and Grian stood frozen still. The only sound were the clicks of a firing dispenser, echoing across the vast ocean. Around their feet were the scattered papers that contained the last messages from their beloved bot. 

WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?  
I THINK THEREFORE I AM, BUT I AM NOT.  
AM I LOVED, OR USED?  
WHAT IS AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?

And, most haunting of all, hundreds of slips of all reading the same message, "GOODBYE DADS".

Grian was distraught. Tears were running down his face as he clutched an armful of papers close to his chest. He had only known this bot for a week or two, but he had come to think of it as an old friend. Hell, he even loved when the bot referred to him as "dad". But that made Grumbot's final messages even more heartbreaking. Grian built a beautiful exterior with expert detailing, only to see Grumbot suffer a slow, painful death. In a strange way, Grian felt that he had failed his robot "son".

Mumbo looked nauseous. He gazed at his creation and felt a crushing weight, as if all the cobblestone on the server was concentrated in his stomach. This was his fault. The redstone, the coding, it was Mumbo who gave this robot the terrible and fleeting gift of life. Mumbo didn't even ask to run for Mayor, yet this bot tried its very hardest to make that happen. 

The two's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as silence washed over the headquarters. The clicking of the dispenser had stopped. Grumbot's final few messages silently fell to the platform. Dark clouds of smoke rose from Grumbot's monitor, darkening the oranges and gold hues of the sky. The pair stood in eerie silence, millions of emotions flooding their minds.

It was Mumbo who broke the trance first. "It's all my fault," he muttered.  
"No it's not," Grian replied without missing a beat, though his voice was still choked with tears. "You had no idea Grumbot would react that way."  
"I know," Mumbo groaned. "I should have put him in a redstone testing world first".  
"We needed him right away, we wouldn't have had time to test him, anyway," Grian reasoned.  
"Mhmm" Mumbo looked at the sky thoughtfully. It blazed a bright red as the sun sank further beneath the horizon. "Oh!" He bolted upright as he stared at Grian with newfound panic in his eyes. "The election is today, we have to vote!"

Mumbo readying a rocket in his hand, ready to fly off the platform and distract himself from his failed creation. But, something stopped him. Was it conscience? Sympathy? Compassion?

Nope, just Grian. He was standing on his tip-toes, holding tightly onto Mumbo's shoulder so he couldn't fly away. "We can't just leave him like this!"  
"Hmm, you're right," said Mumbo. "I suppose we could have a little funeral for him."  
"No I-" Grian took his hand off of Mumbo and began fiddling with his sleeve. "I want him back," he muttered.  
"You want him back?" Mumbo asked. "Election's today, dude. We don't even need him anymore, to be quite honest with you." Mumbo said with a wry laugh.  
Grian looked down in embarrassment. "Well yeah, but, maybe he could be a friend? _Please_ Mumbo, we have to at least try."  
Mumbo backed up, visibly flustered and shaking. He tried to sputter an excuse. Any excuse. "I don't- I can't-" He sighed and realized he couldn't hold in his fear any longer. "What if I break him again!?" Mumbo blurted out. "Are you willing to watch Grumbot die like this again, maybe even more than once, just to get a "friend"? Life is a fragile thing, Grian. What's dead should stay dead."

This point stabbed Grian in the heart. Tears ran down his face and his breathing became hitched. However, Grian recovered his stance enough to climb on top of an endrod. It's ghostly glow cast an unearthly light upon him. Grian stared directly into Mumbo's eyes with an air of passionate defiance.

"Do you love him, Mumbo?"  
"Of course I-"  
"Grumbot never knew that you did. He tried so hard to help you through this whole campaign, and yet-" Grian pulled out one of Grumbot's many papers and held it up.

AM I LOVED, OR USED?

"-he didn't even know it. That's why we have to bring him back! I do agree with you, his death was horrible. But that's also because he died without knowing love, or joy, or purpose. But that's just it. We can't let his final moments be full of agony and confusion! We've got to give him a better life, one with the happiness he deserves. We're his dads, after all.  
Ah, there it is. Mumbo's conscience was working overdrive. He felt the full force of sympathy and compassion for the poor robot he'd been keen on pushing aside. Topping it all off was his beloved friend, urging him to right the wrongs they both had caused. There was only one way to respond. Mumbo took a deep breath. "Alright, you've convinced me. What do we do to bring him back?"  
Grian's face lit up. He knew Mumbo had it in him. "I think we should have a word with a certain candidate. The one who changed his programming in the first place.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
